Most people are aware that electrical devices generally require electrical power to operate. Electrical power requirements often vary greatly, however, between different types of electrical devices. For example, even though both a lamp and a computer plug into the same wall outlet, these two devices may operate at different electrical voltages. To make this possible, many electrical devices employ power converters that control, condition, or convert power between the source and the load. For example, a power converter in a computer may receive power from a wall outlet at one voltage level and convert that power to another voltage level suitable to power the computer. In this way, power converters enable a great variety of electrical devices to receive power from a single standardized power source (e.g., a wall outlet, a car engine, etc.). One type of power converter, known as an isolated power converter, employs a transformer (amongst other components) to perform this power conversion.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an isolated power converter topology that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.